Adapter for windshield wiper assembly

ABSTRACT

An adapter for a windshield wiper assembly, the adapter including a head, a body connected to the head, the body including a downwardly extending hole, a tail connected to the body, a flap connected to the head at a hinge, and a receiving portion generally defined by the body and the tail, wherein the flap covers the receiving portion and the downwardly extending hole when in a closed position, so that the flap faces the body with the receiving portion disposed between the flap and the body, wherein the tail extends away from the body in a manner parallel to a hinge axis of the hinge and perpendicular to an axis defined by the head and the body, and wherein an end of the flap is connected to the head at the hinge.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is Continuation Application of U.S. Ser. No.12/564,557, filed Sep. 22, 2009, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/099,460 filed Sep. 23, 2008. The entiretyof the above-identified applications are incorporated herein byreference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed generally to adapters for a windshieldwiper assembly. More particularly, the present invention is directed toadapters configured to cooperate with one or more windshield wiper armdesigns so that an adapter is usable with different windshield wiperarms.

2. Description of Related Art

Various types of windshield wiper assemblies having a body utilizing apair of leaf spring elements are known. For example, one windshieldwiper assembly uses two parallel pieces of spring steel to secure asqueegee therebetween. The two pieces of spring steel are spot weldedtogether in spaced apart relationship with a portion of the squeegeebeing located between the two pieces of spring steel. Although thisbackground art windshield wiper assembly eliminates the necessity ofhaving multiple frame elements to make up the body of the windshieldwiper assembly, the spot welding prevents easy replacement of thesqueegee.

Additionally, various types of windshield wiper arms are available whichutilize respective adapters for connection of the windshield wiperassemblies to the windshield wiper arms, respectively. Thus, generally,a particular adapter may be usable only with a particular type ofwindshield wiper arm.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide awindshield wiper assembly, which eliminates the above problemsencountered with windshield wiper assemblies according to the backgroundart.

The adapters of the present invention are usable with differentwindshield wiper arms.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an adapter for awindshield wiper assembly includes a head; and a body connected to thehead and configured to cooperate with a bracket of a windshield wiperassembly to attach the windshield wiper assembly to a windshield wiperarm, the body including a bulge portion, and a cutout defining portion.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an adapter for awindshield wiper assembly includes a head; a body connected to the headand configured to cooperate with a bracket of a windshield wiperassembly to attach the windshield wiper assembly to a windshield wiperarm, the body including a hole in an intermediate portion thereof; and aleg portion.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an adapter for awindshield wiper assembly includes a head; a body connected to the head;a tail connected to the body; a flap connected to the body; and areceiving portion generally defined by the body and the tail, whereinthe flap covers the receiving portion when in a closed position.

Further scope of applicability of the present application will becomemore apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However,it should be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from thedetailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawingswhich are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitativeof the present invention and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows various types of arms for a windshield wiper usable withbrackets according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIGS. 2A-2E are various views of an adapter according to one exampleembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 3A-3E are various views of an adapter according to another exampleembodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A-4B are various views of an adapter according to another exampleembodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 5A-5E are various views of an adapter according to another exampleembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the presentinvention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or similar parts.

Additionally, the disclosures of U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,103, U.S. Pat. No.5,632,059 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,082, having the same inventor as thisapplication, are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

FIG. 1 shows various types of arms for a windshield wiper usable withadapters according to embodiments of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 1, the referenced various types of arms may be side pin arms 10 and11, pinch tab arms 12 and 13, a hook arm 14, and a side saddle arm 15.

The side pin arms generally include a side extending pin or an extensionthat enable attachment of an arm to an adapter. For example, the sidepin arm 10 includes a single pin that is inserted into a single hole ona side of an adapter to secure the side pin arm 10 to an adapter. Theside pin arm 11 may be of various configurations, one of which has twopins that are inserted into holes on a side of an adapter, and othersthat have extensions that cooperate with the adapter, to secure the sidepin arm 11 to the adapter. The pinch tab 12 and the pinch tab button 13are arms that generally grab the adapter for attachment, while the hookarm 14 is used to slide an adapter in between the hook portion for theattachment. Finally, the side saddle arm 15 is used to insert the arminto an opening of an adapter for attachment. Accordingly, although eachtype of arm will cooperate with only one adapter that is specialized forthat the arm, generally, the adapters according to various embodimentsof the present invention are configured to cooperate with a plurality oftypes of arm.

FIGS. 2A-2E are various views of an adapter according to one exampleembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a top plan view of theadapter 200, FIG. 2B is a side elevational view of the adapter 200, FIG.2C is a bottom plan view of the adapter 200, FIG. 2D is across-sectional view of the adapter 200 at line A in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2Eis a back end view of the adapter 200.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the adapter 200 includes a head 210 and a body 220.The adapter further includes a bulge portion 230, and a cutout definingportion 240 generally located in the body 220. The bulge portionaccommodates a hole 230 that is generally circular, while the cutoutdefining portion 240 includes a notch 241, a first hole 242, a secondhole 243, a channel 244 and an extending portion 245.

The first and second holes 242 and 243 are generally circular, andcommunicate with each other via the channel 244. The first and secondholes 242, 243 are generally the same size, but such is not required,and the channel 244 extends directly from the first hole 242 to thesecond hole 243. The width of the channel 244 is generally narrower thanthe diameter of the first and second holes 242, 243, and the width ofthe notch 242 is narrower than the width of the channel 242, but such isnot required. The notch 242 is on an opposite side of the first hole 242from the channel 244.

The extending portion 245 extends from the body 220 opposite the hole230 (or the bulge hole), beyond a lower portion of the body 220. Theextending portion 245 accommodates the second hole 243 so that a portionof the second hole 243 is formed within the extending portion 245. Thenotch 241, the first hole 242, the channel 244 and the second hole 243are generally collinear, and are symmetric about a line defined bycenters of the first and second holes 242, 243.

As shown in FIG. 2C, the head 210 has side walls 211, and the body 220has side walls 221. The width of the head 210 is smaller than the widthof the body 220. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 2C, the cutout definingportion 240 has a plurality of walls 245 formed perpendicularly to theside walls 221 of the body 220. The walls 245 are parallel to thechannel 244. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 2D, the curvature of thebulge hole 231 may be 82.60 mm, but such is not required. Othercurvatures are within the scope of the embodiment.

In embodiments of the present invention, the hole 231 may be formed ononly a single wall of the side walls 221 or both, and the first andsecond holes may be formed on only a single wall of the side walls 221or both. By having the bulge hole 230, and the first and second holes242, 243, the adapter 200 is usable with the side pin arm 10 and alsothe side pin arm 11.

FIGS. 3A-3E are various views of an adapter according to another exampleembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a top plan view of theadapter 300, FIG. 3B is a side elevational view of the adapter 300, FIG.3C is a bottom plan view of the adapter 300, FIG. 3D is a front end viewof the adapter 300, and FIG. 3E is a back end view of the adapter 300.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the adapter 300 includes a head 310, a body 320,and a leg portion 330. The body 320 includes a hole 321 in anintermediate portion, and has a flared opening and a notch on oppositesides of the hole 321. The leg portion 330 extends away from the body320, and includes an attaching portion 331, a bent portion 332, legs333, 334 and feet 335.

The leg portion 330 is attached to the body 320 via the attachingportion 331, which extends generally parallel to an upper surface of thebody 320. The attaching portion 331 is connected to a bent portion 332,which first extends generally perpendicular to the attaching portion331, then connects to the legs 333 and 334. The legs 333 and 334 extendoutward from the body 320 in a generally V-shaped configuration as shownin FIG. 3A, and are respectively attached to feet 335. The legs 333 and334 are not generally parallel to the body 320 as shown in FIG. 3A. Thelegs 333 and 334 are not symmetric. As shown in FIG. 3A, for example,the leg 333 generally diagonally extends immediately out from the bentportion 332, while the leg 334 is further translated to the side (upperpart of FIG. 3A) before diagonally extending towards the foot 335.

Unlike the legs 333 and 334, the feet 335 are generally parallel to thebody 320. The feet 335 have a first notch 336 and a pair of secondnotches 337. The first notch 336 is formed on an upper end of the feet335 while the pair of second notches 337 extend vertically on the feet335. As shown in FIG. 3A, the cross-sectional shape of the first notch336 is rectangular, while the cross-sectional shape of the pair ofsecond notches 337 are semi-circles.

As shown in FIG. 3E, the body 320 include side walls 324 respectivelyhaving a first flap 322 and a second flap 323. The first and secondflaps 322 and 323 generally extend in a lengthwise direction of the body320, and also extend outward and perpendicularly from the side walls324. The length of the first and second flaps are different as shown inFIG. 3E. Accordingly, the adapter 300 is usable with both the pinch tabarm 12 and the pinch tab button arm 13 of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4A and 4B are various views of an adapter according to anotherexample embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a plan view ofan adapter 400 a and FIG. 4B is a plan view of an adapter 400 b. In FIG.4A, shown is the adapter 400 a having a body 420 with arm locks 421located to the sides thereof. Similarly, in FIG. 4B, shown is theadapter 400 b having a body 422 with arm locks 423 located to the sidesthereof.

The arm locks 421 are respectively located on opposite sides of the body420, and the arm locks 423 are respectively located on opposite sides ofthe body 422. Accordingly, the arm locks 421 and 423 more easily releasethe respective adapters 400 a, 400 b from attached windshield wiperarms.

FIGS. 5A-5E are various views of an adapter according to another exampleembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a top plan view of theadapter 500, FIG. 5B is a side elevational view of the adapter 500, FIG.5C is a bottom plan view of the adapter 500, FIG. 5D is a front end viewof the adapter 500, and FIG. 5E is a back end view of the adapter 500.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the adapter 500 includes a head 510, a body 520, atail 530, a flap 540, and a receiving portion 550 generally defined bythe body 520 and the tail 530. Both the body 520 and the flap 540 areattached to the head 510. The body 520 extends parallel to and away fromthe head 510. As shown in FIG. 5C, the head 510 includes sidewalls 511,and the body 520 includes side walls 521, 522 and 523 that are generallycollinear. The sidewalls 522 (inner sidewalls) of the body 520 arenested within the interior of the head 510 between the parallelsidewalls 511, while the sidewalls 523 (support sidewalls) of the body520 support the tail 530. The sidewalls 521 (main sidewalls) of the body520 connects the inner sidewalls 522 to the support sidewalls 523.

As shown in FIG. 5B, in the inner sidewalls 522 is located a first hole524 in an intermediate portion next to the main sidewalls 521. The firsthole 524 has a flared opening and a notch on opposite sides of the firsthole 524. Additionally, as show in FIG. 5C is a second hole 525 that isformed in a portion of the body 520 connected to the head 510. As shownin FIGS. 5B and 5C, the second hole 525 is formed approximately at alocation that is between the main sidewalls 521.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the flap 540 includes side walls 541 that define arectangular shape or profile (shown in FIG. 5E), a top cover 543, and apin 542. The flap 540 is movable from a raised position (openedposition) shown in FIG. 5B, to a lowered position (closed position) thatis not shown. In the lowered position, the flap 540 is rotated about aportion that is connected to the head 510, and covers a top of thereceiving portion 550. When the flap 540 is lowered, the pin 542 isinserted into the hole 525 to secure the flap 540.

Prior to the flap 540 being lowered, a wiper arm (not shown) having arectangular shape that matches the rectangular shape or profile of theside walls 541 is received in the receiving portion 550. When the flap540 is lowered on the received wiper arm (not shown), the wiper arm issecured to the adapter 500. The shape or profile of the side walls 541need not be rectangular, and other shapes or profiles are within thescope of the invention.

The tail 530 further includes additional flaps 531 that secure anotherpart of the arm to rest on the additional flaps 531. Thus, theadditional flaps 531 afford greater stability of a connection betweenthe adapter 500 and an arm.

The invention thus being described, it will be obvious that the same maybe varied in many ways. For example, an upper surface of each side wallof the bracket may have a notch formed therein if necessary toaccommodate various adapters. Such variations are not to be regarded asa departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all suchmodifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intendedto be included within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed:
 1. An adapter for a windshield wiper assembly, theadapter comprising: a head; a body connected to the head, the bodyincluding a downwardly extending hole; a tail connected to the body; aflap connected to the head at a hinge; and a receiving portion generallydefined by the body and the tail, wherein the flap covers the receivingportion and the downwardly extending hole when in a closed position, sothat the flap faces the body with the receiving portion disposed betweenthe flap and the body, wherein the tail extends away from the body in amanner parallel to a hinge axis of the hinge and perpendicular to anaxis defined by the head and the body, and wherein an end of the flap isconnected to the head at the hinge.
 2. The adapter of claim 1, whereinthe head includes a pair of sidewalls, wherein the body includes a pairof sidewalls, and wherein a spacing between the pair of sidewalls of thebody is less than a spacing between the pair of sidewalls of the head.3. The adapter of claim 2, wherein the pair of sidewalls of the bodysupport the tail.
 4. The adapter of claim 1, wherein the flap includes apin, wherein the body includes a hole, and wherein the pin is receivedin the hole when the flap is in the closed position.